Eating question

It just seems that y'all eat so little and mostly shakes....are you eating this little on purpose, or can you literally not eat more than that??? Can you explain to me?? Do you have to drink shakes all the time??? I don't think I want to spend the rest of my life drinking liquids instead of eating. I'm new to this and am having my surgery in December...I know I'll get more of an education about all of this, but I'm here to help educate myself from the actual folks that have done this. Thanks for all your help!!!!

When 85-90% of your stomach is removed, you literally cannot eat very much food in one sitting.  That's the point of the VSG - to restrict your intake, thus lowering your caloric intake and causing you to lose weight due to the deficit.  Because VSGers cannot take in more than a few ounces per meal, we focus on consuming protein, as that is what is most necessary for our bodies to have.  Protein shakes are a great way to get concentrated amounts of protein.  Most people only use protein shakes during their early weight loss phases.  I still have at least one a day, as they are convenient and a great source of nutrients. And I actually like the taste of them. 

Talk to your doctors and do all the research you can before getting this procedure, because it is irreversible. 

No regrets here, though, for the record. 

I think a lot (not all) of us drink a shake a day to help keep our protein levels up or simply because we like them either for flavor on convenience.  We eat very little because we have altered stomachs, we can no longer eat the way that we used to.  One of the best (and sometimes worst) parts of VSG is that there is often nothing that we CAN'T eat, but we are limited on quantities due to a lack of room.

Other than that shake or so a day, I think most of us do eat 2-3 "meals" they are just a lot smaller than what you are used to pre-op.  It's crazy to me how quickly your mind adjusts to the new normal.  I went out with a bang so to speak.  About a month before surgery, I had a meal or two a week that were "good bye" meals.  In my head I'd never have Sushi again, or never have pizza again, or never have a big steak dinner again.  I was wrong on all three accounts.  The portions now are just dramatically smaller AND I treat those first two at least as special occassion meals, not as daily fuel.

After you are fully healed from surgery, it will remain up to you, just like it does now as a pre-op about what you put in your mouth.  You will continue to have to choose proteins over junk foods, because either one goes down easily, but one fills you up and gives your body nutrition (protein) and the other does neither (junk.)

 Its not the rest of your life.  Shakes become something you have as a tool to get your protein in if you need it.  By 6 weeks out you SHOULD be getting most of your protein from food, just like before surgery.  You will eat smaller ammounts, because you have a small tummy.  We are taught to priortize protein over anything else we eat - to make sure we get the critical nutrient we need.

For example, today at lunch I had four chicken-lettuce tacos.  Each had 1 ounce of meat and 7 grams of cheese on a romain lettuce leaf.  When I get to maintenance and have more calories in my diet, I could have those in tortilla or taco shell.

You will not be drinking liquid shakes for the rest of your life.  If your surgery center doesn't provide a detailed education, I would encourage you to get a copy of Weight Loss SUrgery for Dummies, or Weight Loss Surgery Cookbook for Dummies.  They explain in detail the diet requirements and diet progression.

I do get an extensive 6 month education pre-op...but wanted to get more insight from others. I am definitely having the surgery, but wanted to know if it was like being on SLIM FAST forever (blugh). So, the exceptionally small portions are because you get full quickly or because you have a pre-portioned size in mind ahead of time. I'm just trying to get my head around true amounts as I eat and eat and eat now, yet never feel full. It almost sounds like you could eat off of your spouse's plate instead of ordering your own food when you go out.

Shakes are the beginning stage before surgery because it is important to shrink your liver.  Sorry but as bigger people we have bigger livers and to be able to get to the stomach they have to move and pick up the liver.   The shakes after surgery are important for like the others have said the protein which helps not only nurish your body but also helps promote healing.  It usually last only a few more weeks after surgery but it doesn't last forever.  In stage two you will start eating soft foods and you will be surprised how many options you get.  You will do great, don't be worried.

Carm

Definitely a learning process and as you will see on these message boards, everyone's sleeves are different. Different volumes when eating, how many times a day you eat, what you eat. As everyone has said, protein is a big focus, so I do drink a protein shake every morning, but I love the protein I use and it allows me not to ever have to "think" about breakfast, such a blessing. I then eat 4-5 times throughout the rest of the day. Focusing on small portions of protein and little bits of the "extras" veggies, fruits, grains. I keep a daily log of all my eating, keeping track of calories and protein. Others count carbs and fats as well. So it will depend on what your surgeon tells you to do.

I was the girl who never felt full, so I get what you are saying, but to be truthful, I did tons of research, but did not fully understand the "full" thing until I had surgery. It still surprises me that I can be totally full on one yogurt and in the beginning was full on 1/4 of one.

Enjoy the research process and see what works for others.

Since about six weeks out, I've rarely had shakes except when I just want one because ... well because I want one. I eat 3-4 times a day to get my protein requirements in and I'm very consistent. It is great how the brain adapts. Most of the time I don't think about how small the portion I'm eating is but rather whether I have taken too much by an ounce or two. It is a life changer and I struggled with the idea. Most of the time (but not all of the time) it is much easier than I envisioned.

I am 8 weeks today and only use shakes as a "snack" if I am low on protein for the day.  I try to get all of my protein in from the foods I am eating, I go for the higher protrein, but sometimes when I am out running, like yesterday, I just don't get enough.  Once I was able to go on a regular diet I gave up the shakes for meal replacement, but that was my choice as I did not want to do a shake everyday as a meal replacement.  I like them, just wanted to get to eating regular foods and more of a normal routine as soon as my body could.   I can generally eat about 4 ozs. in a meal.

Thanks all....it is very difficult to get your head around smaller porions making you full...but that will be interesting! What are the best shakes out there????